10 things you need to know today: September 4, 2016

Pope Francis leaves the mass where Mother Teresa was canonized

(Image credit: Andreas Solaro/Getty Images)

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1. Pope Francis declares Mother Teresa a saint
2. G20 summit underway in Hangzhou, China
3. Trump in Detroit: 'I'm here today to learn'
4. Obama pledges to help bring Turkey coup plotters to justice
5. 5.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Midwest from Nebraska to Texas
6. Obama: 'We're not there yet' on a ceasefire deal with Russia in Syria
7. Mike Pence will release his tax returns next week
8. Trump surrogate Mark Burns apologizes for falsifying biographical claims
9. Remains of Minnesota boy found after 27 years
10. Tribal pipeline protest briefly turns violent

last updated 4 September 2016

1. Pope Francis declares Mother Teresa a saint

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the "saint of the gutters" who spent years working among India's most destitute, was formally canonized as a saint of the Catholic Church on Sunday in a ceremony led by Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. "For Mother Teresa, mercy was the salt which gave flavor to her work, it was the light which shone in the darkness of the many who no longer had tears to shed for their poverty and suffering," Francis said, describing the new saint as a "dispenser of divine mercy" who held the powerful accountable "for the crimes of poverty they created." The service was attended by an estimated 120,000 people and included a pizza lunch for 1,500 homeless people in Mother Teresa's name.

This year's G20 economic summit is officially underway in Hangzhou, the first time world leaders have convened the meeting in China. The summit began Sunday, though President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping met Saturday to commit their respective nations to the Paris climate change deal. On the agenda for the two-day event are issues and negotiations including Brexit, a cessation of hostilities in Syria, catching the plotters of the recent coup attempt in Turkey, taxes for multinational corporations, nuclear power, and steel prices and production.

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Republican Donald Trump visited Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday as part of his ongoing minority outreach efforts. "I'm here today to learn, so that we can together remedy injustice in any form," he said while speaking at an African-American church, "and so that we can also remedy economics so that the African-American community can benefit economically through jobs and income and so many other different ways." Trump's visit was met with angry protesters who chanted, "What do you have to lose? ... Everything," referencing Trump's recent comment that black voters should take a chance on him because they have nothing to lose. Trump's backing among black voters nationally is below 10 percent.

After speaking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the G20 summit in China on Sunday, President Obama pledged the United States' assistance to Turkey in catching those responsible for the failed coup attempt this summer. "I have assured [Erdogan] that our Justice Department and my national security team will continue to cooperate with Turkish authorities to determine how we will make sure that those who carried out these activities are brought to justice," Obama said. Erdogan believes the uprising was organized by an exiled cleric who lives in Pennsylvania, and he in turn promised that evidence of the plot "will be amassed and they will be submitted to our friends in the United States."

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake rumbled through America's Great Plains region at 7:02 a.m. Central time on Saturday morning, with shocks felt from Nebraska through northern areas of Texas. The epicenter was in north-central Oklahoma, near a town called Pawnee, and it was among the largest in recorded Oklahoma history. No major damage was reported. Following the quake, which is believed to be linked to underground wastewater disposal from oil and natural gas production, state regulators ordered 37 disposal wells shut down.

The United States and Russia are still negotiating a deal for cessation of hostilities in Syria, President Obama said Sunday at the G20 summit in China. "We're not there yet," he remarked, even while Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov were engaged in active negotiations nearby. "It's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward," Obama continued, "but there is the possibility at least for us to make some progress on that front." Though an agreement could be reached during the summit, Obama warned that the two sides retain "grave differences" they must resolve first.

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence promised in an interview to be aired on NBC Sunday that he will release his personal tax returns soon. "Donald Trump and I are both going to release our tax returns," Pence said. "I'll release mine in the next week and Donald Trump will be releasing his tax returns at the completion of an audit" currently being conducted by the IRS. Pushed by interviewer Chuck Todd as to whether Trump's audit will be completed before Election Day, Pence tentatively added, "We'll see." The IRS says it does not object to Trump releasing his information before the audit is finished.

Prominent Donald Trump surrogate Mark Burns admitted to lying about key biographical details after a contentious interview with CNN anchor Victor Blackwell. Burns, an African-American pastor who spoke at the Republican National Convention, had published several false claims — including graduation with a Bachelor of Science degree and six years of service in the Army Reserve — which he struggled to explain while speaking with Blackwell. Burns first said he thought the conversation was off the record, then suggested his website had been hacked, and finally issued an apology note after the interview was taped. In the note, he said Blackwell only grilled him because he is "a black man supporting Donald Trump."

Forensic evidence has confirmed the discovery of the remains of Jacob Wetterling, an 11-year-old boy who was kidnapped and killed 27 years ago. Wetterling went missing in 1989, abducted by a man with a stocking mask and a gun while riding his bike near his home in rural Minnesota. His disappearance led to the 1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, which mandated state-level sex offender registries. Wetterling's killer remains on the loose.

A demonstration by Native Americans against a $3.8 billion oil pipeline intended to run through four states briefly turned violent Saturday as protesters clashed with private security guards on site. Tribal leaders say construction workers destroyed historic burial and cultural locations on private land in North Dakota, and a scuffle resulted in four guards and two guard dogs sustaining undisclosed injuries. Standing Rock Sioux representative Steve Sitting Bear said six protesters, including a child, were bitten by the dogs, and 30 more were pepper sprayed. The protesters, who have set up camp near construction efforts, are concerned about damage to sacred sites as well as polluted drinking water on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.